So I have heard stories about defective X-Plorer controllers (broken whammy bar) that stemmed recalls, resulting in it being a hard to find game. I finally broke down and bought a copy today. I took it home, unpacked it, plugged it in and turned on my 360. Then I chose career mode, chose a storage device, and named my band. Then I chose normal difficulty, and chose the first song.

Then the graphics got all neat and corrupted and the game locked up. When I rebooted the console, I got the dreaded red ring of death.

That's right, folks. Guitar Hero 2 bricked my Xbox. I am still under warranty, but it is gonna take around 3 weeks before I have it back and up and running.

So yeah. I am pissed off. I am gonna take the fuckin' game back to EB and use the store credit for Forza 2. I only hope I get my 360 back by the time it comes out.

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Dude, if a console is going to brick it's going to brick regardless of the game being played. Yours just chose to brick playing GH2. Mine did the same thing playing Test Drive Unlimited. One of my friends' consoles did the same thing while playing Robotron

"Regrettable... I was hoping for a colleague, but at least we have
another experimental subject..." -Mesa of Lost Women

I left it alone for an hour and turned it on. Booted up just fine. Wandered around the main menu for a bit, streamed some music, etc. As soon as I plugged in the X-Plorer controller, the graphics corrupted (small green squares all over the screen) and red ring again. The theory is whatever they changed in the patch corrupted a driver. I seriously doubt this is coincidence.

Guitar Hero II publisher RedOctane has admitted that some users are experiencing problems with a patch released for the Xbox 360 version over the weekend.

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The update, released on Saturday, was supposed to help users whose copies of the game were refusing to acknowledge input from the Xplorer controller's whammy bar.

However forum threads quickly sprang up on Xbox.com and the official Guitar Hero website complaining that the patch was followed immediately by system freezes and, in some cases, the dreaded ring of death - the only answer to which is returning the console to Microsoft.

For gamers whose consoles are now out of warranty, that could mean a significant charge from Microsoft in order to get it fixed.

RedOctane initially declined to comment, but this afternoon a spokesperson told Eurogamer: "We're aware of the problem and we're looking into it."

Given how quickly the last patch was released, it's probably safe to expect something in the near future. What will be interesting though is how the publisher intends to deal with customers who claim their consoles have been "bricked" by the update.

Y'know what, for as much as someone spends on either of the 2 consoles, they should have a longer warranty. I mean, I know things happen, but at least they should back up their product, if it's actually worth a shit. Also, if Red Octane fucked up your Xbox that's out of warranty because they produce crap, they should pay for it. Oh that's right, the EULA that you have when you buy the game releases them from any indemnity. Fuckin asses....

If you want an 360 while you are waiting for yours to be returned and have some extra money go to Costco and pick one up. They will allow you to return it for up to 30 days after purchase, no questions asked

At least that's what I did

"Regrettable... I was hoping for a colleague, but at least we have
another experimental subject..." -Mesa of Lost Women

ZXRO wrote:I left it alone for an hour and turned it on. Booted up just fine. Wandered around the main menu for a bit, streamed some music, etc. As soon as I plugged in the X-Plorer controller, the graphics corrupted (small green squares all over the screen) and red ring again. The theory is whatever they changed in the patch corrupted a driver.

Last time I had a system faliure, the soluition was to blow into the cartrage and wedge some thin between the top of the game and the yop/inside of the NES.

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Frank the Hammer wrote:Last time I had a system faliure, the soluition was to blow into the cartrage and wedge some thin between the top of the game and the yop/inside of the NES.

Glory days. If only it were still that simple. I don't think I ever encountered a fully "broke" system back then. Just workarounds like you said. Broken systems really started with the PS1. Damn moving parts.

So I shelled out $150 for GH2 and another controller for my 360. My controllers were fine, even though they were both from the production run that was supposedly problematic. The update came and went and I was fine.

Then...

I downloaded an update last week. Now when I play GH2(could be other games, too, haven't tried any yet) for more than 10 minutes, it freezes up. I can restart, and it does the same thing. *sigh* I'm with you on Forza 2, I hope I can play it...